Volsunga Saga The Saga Of The Volsungs

The Saga of the Volsungs is an Icelandic epic of special interest to admirers of Richard Wagner, who drew heavily upon this Norse source in writing his Ring Cycle and a primary source for writers of fantasy such as J. R. R. Tolkien and romantics such as William Morris. A trove of traditional lore, it tells of love, jealousy, vengeance, war, and the mythic deeds of the dragonslayer, Sigurd the Volsung. Byock's comprehensive introduction explores the history, legends, and myths contained in the saga and traces the development of a narrative that reaches back to the period of the great folk migrations in Europe when the Roman Empire collapsed.

From the translator of the bestselling Poetic Edda (Hackett, 2015) comes a gripping new rendering of two of the greatest sagas of Old Norse literature. Together the two sagas recount the story of seven generations of a single legendary heroic family and comprise our best source of traditional lore about its members—including, among others, the dragon-slayer Sigurd, Brynhild the Valkyrie, and the Viking chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok.

"This is a book of the highest importance. No one should attempt to teach about Viking society or claim to understand it without being familiar with this chilling and enduring myth."—Eleanor Searle, author of Predatory Kinship & the Creation of Norman Power "Byock's translation is excellent, but his thorough introduction is of equal scholarly importance. . . . His section on Richard Wagner's use of the Volsung material in writing his Ring will expand the topic toward modern Wagnerians."—Michael Bell, University of Colorado "The Saga of the Volsungs is one of the most important texts of Old Icelandic literature, with its treatment of Old Scandinavian heroic traditions. . . . The most difficult part of the text to translate is, of course, the poetry, but also here the translator has been successful."—Vésteinn Olason, University of Oslo

Tells the story of the Völsung clan, including the story of Sigurd and Brynhild.

This early work by William Morris was originally published in 1899 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. William Morris was born in London, England in 1834. Arguably best known as a textile designer, he founded a design partnership which deeply influenced the decoration of churches and homes during the early 20th century. However, he is also considered an important Romantic writer and pioneer of the modern fantasy genre, being a direct influence on authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien. As well as fiction, Morris penned poetry and essays. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Volsunga saga ranks as one of the foremost works of prose written in thirteenth-century Iceland. A highly dramatic rendering of tales from the remote Germanic past, the saga presents the Old Norse version of the story of the Volsungs, Gjukungs, and Budlungs, three families fated to destroy each other. A continental German version of this history is recounted in the well-known Middle High German epic the Nibelungenlied. The author composed the saga using earlier cycles of heroic poems, imbedding in his prose text a number of poetic stanzas and one nearly complete poem that we also have recorded in a thirteenth-century collection of poetry known as the Poetic Edda. In the nineteenth century the story was recreated as a major cultural document by Richard Wagner in his cycle of epic music dramas Der Ring des Nibelungen, inspired by his reading of Volsunga saga. This edition presents a new English translation of the saga with a diplomatic transcription of the Old Norse text, based on the only vellum manuscript Nks 1824 b, 4° from 1400, on facing pages. The introduction provides the reader with an analysis of the saga's structure and thematic content.

"In offering to the reader this translation of the most complete and dramatic form of the great Epic of the North, we lay no claim to special critical insight, nor do we care to deal at all with vexed questions, but are content to abide by existing authorities, doing our utmost to make our rendering close and accurate, and, if it might be so, at the same time, not over prosaic: it is to the lover of poetry and nature, rather than to the student, that we appeal to enjoy and wonder at this great work, now for the first time, strange to say, translated into English." -- William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson Originally written in Icelandic -- that is, Old Norse -- in the thirteenth century A.D., by an unknown hand, most of the material in "The Story of the Volsungs" is based substantially on previous works, some centuries older. A few of these works have been preserved in the collection of Norse poetry known as the "Poetic Edda."